FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 8, 2006

NEW METRO FOUNDATION BEGINS COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN TODAY 

“Everybody Rides Metro” foundation helps low-income riders afford fares;
first foundation of its kind in the nation 

CINCINNATI –  Something as small as a bus token can change a life.

Today the new Everybody Rides Metro charitable foundation is launching a community campaign to raise funds to subsidize bus tokens and passes for low-income individuals who need help getting to jobs, education, healthcare and basic human services in order to maintain their self-sufficiency.  Everybody Rides Metro is the first foundation of its kind in the country.

Mayor Mark Mallory and his father William Mallory Sr., who serves on the foundation’s board, will make the ceremonial first donation to kick off the community campaign today at Metro’s Government Square transit hub. 

Donations raised by the campaign will be used to fund grants to local non-profit organizations that will partner with the foundation to get subsidized fares into the hands of those who need them most.   The foundation is selecting partner organizations for 12-month pilot projects beginning in December 2006.

Robert W. Buechner, president of Buechner Haffer Meyers & Koenig Co., L.P.A. and chairman of the foundation board, notes the importance of the foundation: “Most people don’t think about transportation; they hop in their cars and go.  But for many, even modest bus fare to work, the doctor or the grocery can be a financial burden.  The foundation’s goal is to help low-income workers, children, people with disabilities and older adults get where they need to go.”

Echoing Buechner’s comments is Beth Smith, president of Cincinnati Works, a non-profit that helps low-income people find and keep employment. Smith estimates that 85-90% of Cincinnati Works’ clients depend on public transportation to get to and from jobs.  “We often find that transportation is a barrier to achieving economic self-sufficiency,” said Smith. “A grant from Everybody Rides Metro would allow us to more effectively remove that barrier and serve more people. The foundation is a wonderful, compassionate idea and we’re very excited to be a part of it.”

FUNDING THE FOUNDATION

The foundation receives contributions from corporate donors, other foundations and individuals. Metro does not fund the foundation, but has requested that Cincinnati City Council appropriate $250,000 from the transit fund to serve as seed money for the foundation’s start-up year, which requires council approval. Other sources of revenue include early contributions from Duke Energy, Metro employees and the sale of retired buses beyond their useful life.

Doug McCray, a Metro bus operator, made a donation to Everybody Rides Metro from his family foundation, after seeing the need for subsidized fares on the bus routes he drives every day. "A little contribution from a lot of people can make a world of difference," he said.

The Everybody Rides Metro community campaign will run through Jan. 10, 2007.

The foundation accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover and checks.  Tax-deductible contributions can be made in the following ways:

Metro buses:             Mail-in donation envelopes available from the bus driver

Metro sales office:            Mercantile Building arcade downtown

By phone:                  (513) 632-9246

On-line:                       www.everybodyridesmetro.org.

Metro is a non-profit public service of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, providing about 22 million rides per year in Greater Cincinnati.

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